Taminco Group Said to Seek Lower Rates on Apollo LBO Loans

Jan. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Taminco Group NV, the chemical
ingredients manufacturer controlled by Apollo Global Management
LLC, is seeking to lower the rate it pays on $507 million of
term loans in dollars and euros due in 2019, according to a
person with knowledge of the transaction.

The interest on the $348 million piece will be reduced to
3.25 percentage points to 3.5 percentage points more than the
London interbank offered rate while the interest on the 120
million-euro ($159 million) portion will be decreased to 3.5
percent points to 4 percentage points more than the euro
interbank offered rate, said the person, who asked not to be
identified because the information is private. Both term loans
will contain a 1 percent minimum on the benchmarks.

Lenders are being offered six months of soft-call
protection of 101 cents from the date of the re-pricing, said
the person, meaning the company would have to pay 1 cent more
than face value to refinance the debt during the first six
months.

The company’s existing dollar and euro denominated term
loans pay interest at 4 percentage points and 4.25 percentage
points more than Libor/Euribor respectively, according to data
compiled by Bloomberg. Both loans have a 1.25 percent floor, the
data show.

Citigroup Inc. is arranging the deal for the Ghent,
Belgium-based company and hosted a lender call this morning,
according to the person. Apollo, a New York-based private-equity
firm with $110 billion of assets under management, acquired
Taminco from CVC Capital Partners Ltd. for 1.1 billion euros in
February, Bloomberg data show.